Bitcoin mania to continue

Bitcoin mania to continue

The real Wolf of Wall Street, who rose to infamy when he plead guilty to stock market manipulation, has slammed bitcoin, labelling the cryptocurrency a “huge danger”.

Jordan Belfort, the former stockbroker who’s life was depicted in the 2007 Hollywood blockbuster The Wolf of Wall Street, has told American media bitcoin is a “huge, gigantic scam” that will “blow up in so many people’s faces”.

Bitcoin has rocketed from $US1000 in January to $US17,150 today.

“What’s happening is that there is all these copycat cryptocurrencies that are going out there and there’s no actual regulation on the asset of bitcoin itself,” Belfort told CNN.

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“There are people right now who are using the success of bitcoin to create these massive pump-and-dumps with other cryptocurrencies — I think it’s a huge danger right now.”

Belfort, 55, said he believed bitcoin would continue to rise in value before sensationally crashing down.

“The next stage what you’ll see is (bitcoin) will really skyrocket, then there’ll be a short squeeze and it will go even higher and eventually it’ll all come caving in,” he said.

“It’s almost a guarantee.”

Camera IconLeonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort in the 2007 film The Wolf of Wall Street.Picture: AP, Paramount Pictures

Belfort, who pleaded guilty to stock market manipulation in 1999 and served 22 months in prison, said people find themselves in hot water with investing because they lack discipline to quit while they are ahead.

“Here is the bottom line. If you were a really disciplined person to get in and get out there’s probably a window to make some money,” he said.

“But that’s not human nature. It’s not psychology — people will get in and make some money and then they’ll want to make more money.”

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He is not the first high profile person to speak negatively about bitcoin.

Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel prize-winning economist, said the lack of regulation around bitcoin meant it should be outlawed.

“Bitcoin is successful only because of its potential for circumvention and lack of oversight,” Stiglitz said two weeks ago.

“It’s a bubble that’s going to give a lot of people a lot of exciting times as it rides up and then goes down. The value of a bitcoin today is expectations of what bitcoin is going to be tomorrow.”

Camera IconBelfort said people could make money from Bitcoin if they quit while they’re ahead.Picture: Supplied